Hinesburg talks pros, cons of owning Vermont 116 section

Discussion is part of larger Vermont 116 Corridor Study

Feb. 20, 2014

Written by

Elizabeth Murray

Free Press Staff Writer

Members of a Hinesburg Planning and Zoning committee taking a look at the stretch of Vermont 116 that runs through the downtown village growth area are putting together a final report of strategies to reduce traffic congestion at peak hours of the day to present to the town’s Select Board in March.

In the meantime, the committee presented options to the public for accommodating the main street’s village growth, addressing traffic congestion and enhancing street connectivity at its most recent meeting Feb. 11.

Among the topics discussed, one seemed particularly interesting to both Select Board members and the public: What would happen if the town were to own the stretch of Vermont 116 that runs through the village?

That stretch is currently state-owned, Weinhagen said, which means the state takes care of maintenance and the town has to go through the Vermont Agency of Transportation if it wants to make any changes with zoning.

According to Director of Planning and Zoning Alex Weinhagen, four of the five Select Board members were at the meeting. The official sign-in sheet from the meeting attached to the minutes posted online shows signatures of two board members — Jonothan Trefry and Michael Bissonette. The Vermont 116 Corridor Study is funded by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission.

When final recommendations and strategies are presented to the Select Board in March, Weinhagen said many of the projects that the select board may pursue could involve partnerships with the Vermont Agency of Transportation — which could slow the process down considerably.

“The current standards that VTrans requires make it very difficult to do things like on-street parking, make it very difficult to do crosswalks in locations that maybe don’t have a huge pedestrian traffic load, but we still think we need a crosswalk,” Weinhagen said. “If the town were to take over that road, we would be making those decisions.”

Weinhagen said this change would also eliminate the time spent waiting in line for assistance with issues, such as the timing of a traffic light, while other state projects are completed.

(Page 2 of 2)

Though Weinhagen said the pros and cons around the town’s taking ownership of the state highway have been discussed throughout his 11-12 years as director, he said he saw a peak in interest especially from Select Board members at the Feb. 11 meeting.

“It sounds to me like it’s coming to a head, and we’ll just have to wait and see if the Select Board wants to act on that,” Weinhagen said.

In the last eight years, VTrans Director of Program Development Rich Tetreault remembers only three towns taking ownership of state highways via legislative action, including highways in Manchester Village, Norwich and U.S. 7 in Middlebury.

Town financial impact

The study’s consultant, Lucy Gibson of Dubois and King Inc. Consulting Engineers, examined what a decision like owning the roadway would cost the town, finding that it would possibly increase the town’s budget, but not by much, Weinhagen said.

Hinesburg would receive state aid for owning the roadway, which would nearly offset the additional annual expenses, according to Gibson’s findings. Weinhagen said this turns out to be a net gain for the town of a few thousand dollars.

Town Administrator Joe Colangelo said he could not tell at this point how this would affect taxpayers since he did not have enough information at this point.

“I think that’s something we’ll find out soon,” Colangelo said, adding that he was not sure what ideas would be presented to the select board in March, or if this idea would be one.

Weinhagen described the potential additional costs as a “drop in the bucket” for the town given its overall highway budget.

Weighing the pros and cons

Weinhagen said the town would have responsibility for all of the roadway’s maintenance, which will require additional planning for activities such as fixing potholes and plowing the street. Weinhagen acknowledged that the town’s road foreman, Mike Anthony, is not particularly fond of the idea because of the additional strain it will put on his office.

“That’s just logistically a con,” Weinhagen said. “It requires more planning and more work on his part to do that.”

Though the idea may not alleviate all of the problems diagnosed by the corridor study, Weinhagen said it could help in part — specifically with an intersection at Charlotte Road and Vermont 116.

Despite the planning cons, Weinhagen said his office is still in favor of the idea because of the flexibility it will allow the town to have with its zoning.

“The time is right,” Weinhagen said. “I think it’s about time that the town sort of takes control over that really integral part of our growth center.”